One Year Ago...

This Saturday I am running the Reedy River Run 5k in downtown Greenville. This will be one year since my very first race. It was actually this exact race that I ran with Megan and Melanie. It was a first for all of us. All three of us had gone through a 5k training program. Megan and I basically trained together, while Melanie trained on her own in Charlotte, NC. None of us were runners, so we were all starting out fresh. By the time of the race, Megan and I had run 3 miles maybe once before. Melanie told us AFTER the race that she hadn’t completed the program, yet. She was a couple weeks behind us. So, the race was her longest run to that point!

Melanie, Mike, and Zoe drove in on Friday. You should have seen us. We were all a nervous wreck. We had never raced before. We were all concerned about what to wear, what to eat, what to drink, how early to get there, how to put the timing chip on, where does the bib go, how do we pace ourselves, etc. I remember I woke up around 5am (the start wasn’t until 9:20am). I was so nervous. I absolutely could not sleep (I think it has become a habit for me before my races now). So, we finally got everything ready and left way too early. We got to the start just in time to stand in the freezing cold for about an hour.

Since we were there so early, we got to see the start of the 10k race. It was really neat watching the elite runners at the front before they started. They were stretching and sprinting back and forth. They looked like the real deal. We got more nervous. While we were waiting for them, I looked across the street and saw someone that I recognized. Crystal—that girl from the stake. We waved to each other, but didn’t know each other well enough to strike up a conversation. It’s a year later and now we’re planning races together that are states away!

It was finally our turn to start. We made last minute stops at the bathroom and said goodbye to Zoe and Mike. Then, we pushed our way into the crowd of runners. They signaled the start and nothing happened. I just assumed that when they said go, everyone would start sprinting. No, it took a minute or so to even get moving, then it took a couple more minutes to make it to the start line.

The three of us stayed together the whole time. All I remember about the beginning is that when we got to the first big hill, Melanie started sprinting up it. As in, she was passing everyone. It was pretty funny. But, we eventually got into a pretty good rhythm. I just remember how neat it felt to be part of the race.

We knew we were nearing the finish line, so Melanie told me to get out my phone and call Mike. She wanted him to be waiting for us at the finish line. Every time I race now I think about that. Talking on the phone during a race.

We knew that we were getting to the end, so Megan sprinted off ahead of us after the last turn. But when she saw that the finish was so close, she stopped and waited for us to catch up and we all ran in together. It was AWESOME! There were so many people. We could barely get through the people to find Mike. I remember the three of us were SO proud of the accomplishment. We ran our first 5k in 35:38. We had no concept of if that was a good time or not. And we didn’t care. All we cared about was that we finished.

So, one year and lots of races later, I’m coming back for more. It’ll just be me this time. I’m thinking of blowing up pictures of Megan and Melanie and carrying them on sticks as I run.